


An Element of Chaos

by poppyfields



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Awkward Romance, Developing Relationship, First Love, Fluff and Angst, M/M, Romantic Comedy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-06
Updated: 2020-11-06
Packaged: 2021-03-08 22:36:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,606
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27424330
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/poppyfields/pseuds/poppyfields
Summary: Asahi's life was always fine. He had bad days and good days, but more or less he was content. When he fell for Nishinoya a lot of the rhythms he'd gotten used to started to fall apart, but even when it was uncomfortable or even heart-breaking, Nishinoya's love made his life worth living.A mostly upbeat romance between the two boys. A bit of angst in the climax but genuine love and humor throughout the whole story.
Relationships: Azumane Asahi/Nishinoya Yuu
Comments: 3
Kudos: 42





	An Element of Chaos

Nishinoya Yuu decided the first time he saw Azumane spike that he was the absolute coolest person Noya had ever met. The way he drew every eye in the gym, the way his eyes could burn a hole in the court, and the boom that filled the room when he hit the ball right to the spot he had chosen. If Nishinoya had any regrets about choosing Karasuno over a school with a better volleyball team, they were gone once he saw Asahi in action.

He followed his senpai around like a baby duckling for at least his first month in the volleyball club, offering to receive any time he practiced serving, offering to help whenever it was his turn to clean the club room, and trying his best to join any conversation he was a part of. When Noya eventually became friends with Tanaka, his desperation to be a part of anything Asahi was involved in waned, but his respect for the hitter never did. 

If you asked Noya when his platonic adoration for his upperclassman turned into romantic attraction, he wouldn’t have been able to tell you, but the pain he felt when he first saw Asahi cry after they lost to Date Tech was more than he could have felt for just a friend. When he entered second year and had to face the fact that the ace had quit the team, when he had to consider the idea that, without volleyball, he may not ever be close to Asahi again, he knew that what he was feeling was heartbreak.

He didn’t necessarily want to do anything about these feelings though. As long as he could see Azumane at practice every day he didn’t need anything more to happen. Plus, if he was being completely honest, he had this illogical feeling that if Asahi liked him he would make the first move, even though he knew Asahi well enough to know that wasn’t true. In any case, he didn’t start flirting with his senpai in an effort to start a relationship. It had actually started out of something very innocent.

“Ok, so Nekoma’s known for their strong defense,” Daichi announced in the team meeting just a week before their practice game, “I know we’ve been working on our offense but even our best hitters won’t always be able to escape their receives.”  
“Oh, come on, no one can take Asahi,” Noya chimed, not thinking much of it.  
“I’m really not that good Nishinoya,” Asahi responded.  
Without having to control it Nishinoya’s head whipped around to face him.  
“Are you kidding, your spikes are amazing,” Noya bit back, “I mean I’m the best receiver I know and I can hardly get them. You-”  
It was at this point that Nishinoya noticed the ace’s cheeks burning pink and he lost his train of thought.  
“Thanks, Noya,” the captain interjected, “but even Asahi might have some trouble with Nekoma’s defense.”  
The meeting continued, but Nishinoya couldn’t think of anything but the bashful face Asahi had made in response to his compliment. When the meeting was disbanded Noya found himself walking next to Tanaka, not hearing a word he was saying.  
“Tanaka, did I make Asahi blush?”  
Tanaka burst into laughter at this. He knew enough about Noya’s crush to tease him about him at the very least.  
“Dude, literally anything will make Asahi blush.” Tanaka jabbed.  
“But I did right?” Noya repeated, “I made him blush.”  
He didn’t know exactly why this made him so proud, but it did and if he could make him blush with such a run of the mill compliment…

In the next couple weeks Noya’s constant attempts to make Asahi blush again grew more and more flirtatious.  
The first couple compliments weren’t that out of the ordinary.  
“Nice kill,” he would scream every time his crush landed a spike, even if they were on opposite sides of the court.  
“Wow, you’re scary strong,” he mentioned once or twice.  
“That’s why we call you the ace!” he cheered when Asahi did something more spectacular.  
All of these succeeded at getting Asahi flustered at least a couple times, but he got used to them pretty quickly and Noya had to resort to more drastic measures.  
“Damn, those biceps,” replaced his compliments on Asahi’s strength.  
When the hitter jumped somewhere where Nishinoya had a good view, Noya would pounce on him the second he landed, “Mmm, do that again for me,” he would tease.  
He even managed to slip in a couple, “I could kiss you right now”’s in their practice games.  
All of these made Tanaka and Sugawara laugh uncontrollably, so Nishinoya happily continued and Asahi just tried to ignore the heat that overtook his face every time.

The game with Nekoma had come and passed and the team was getting ready for the Interhigh tournament when Nishinoya found himself alone in the club room with Asahi after practice.  
When Asahi pulled his shirt over his head Nishinoya made an exaggerated gasp.  
“Keeping it tight, Azumane.”  
It had become so easy for him to flirt with his upperclassman by that point it had just become second nature. But when Asahi got his shirt completely over his head, his expression wasn’t the cute bashful blush Noya had come to expect. He was still blushing, but it was clear he was mad. Really mad.  
“There’s not even anyone here, I don’t understand what you get from this.”  
Noya had no idea what to say. He hadn’t expected this at all.  
“I-” he started.  
“I get it, I know I blush easily, but I can’t even fucking breathe without you pretending to flirt with me and it’s getting kinda annoying Yuu.”  
Nishinoya blinked, he’d screwed everything up. Of course he had. He’d been obsessed with making Asahi blush and hadn’t even thought about what it would be like to have a guy you didn’t like flirt with you every day. Wait, had Asahi said pretend?  
“I wasn’t pretending,” Nishinoya mumbled under his breath before he knew what he was saying.  
Suddenly the room was silent. Neither of the boys moved a muscle.  
“What?” Asahi suddenly spoke.  
This was enough to send Noya into a panic. “Well, no, that’s not what I meant. I was just saying, like, well- Ok, like, I was flirting with you, but” Asahi’s face went redder than Noya had seen it before, “No- wait, not like, I mean, I don’t…”  
Finally, he gave up. There was no way he was getting out of this he’d already dug himself too deep.  
“Do you…” Asahi couldn’t bring himself to finish the question.

* * *

When Asahi developed a crush on Nishinoya it couldn’t be mistaken for anything else. He was at least a little bit obsessed. When the libero had joined the volleyball team he clung to Asahi and to be honest, it kind of creeped him out, but the more he got to know the little ball of thunder, the more he came to love him.

Nishinoya, at least from his perspective, was everything Asahi was not. Even at half his size, he had a way of taking up ten times as much space as Asahi did. He could talk comfortably with anyone he met, well any guy he met, girls were a different story. He was funny and loud and he had this smile that somehow made its way into every corner of Asahi’s brain. He was the kind of guy whose presence you noticed, and even more impressive to Asahi was how much he noticed his absence. 

It was obvious to Asahi from early on that Nishinoya didn’t feel the same way. Even though he gasped when Asahi spiked and leaped to hug him when they won a match, that was just the way Noya was. It didn’t mean anything. I mean, Asahi saw the way he acted around Kiyoko, the way he talked about her. The way he talked about Asahi was nothing compared to that. Asahi knew his crush wasn't reciprocated and he didn't want to hurt himself by pretending it might be. That's why he had no idea what to do when Noya started blatantly flirting with him during practice.

"Do you…" he didn't dare finish the question, not even in his mind. Nishinoya wasn't interested in him. He was straight, he was into Kiyoko, he was… not…

"I like you," Nishinoya admitted with a sigh, "and I'm really sorry for flirting with you, I got carried away and I-"

By that point Asahi's mind was racing through way too many thoughts to process anything he was saying. Nishinoya liked him? That alone was enough to occupy his mind for the rest of the day. What the hell was going on? God, he'd heard of butterflies but this felt more like a heart attack. It took all the willpower he had to turn his head. Nishinoya continued to ramble on, though Asahi didn't have half the brainpower left to follow any of it. Noya's voice slowly dropped as he noticed Asahi staring. Then they just stared.

The silence grew. Asahi knew what he had to do next. He knew what to do when someone you like confesses, he’d heard Suga chew out Daichi for screwing this up enough times. Trying to keep his hands from shaking, Asahi cupped Nishinoya’s jaw, tilting his head up to face his and looking deep into his eyes. Noya knew what to do too, he closed his eyes and slightly parted his lips, waiting for Asahi to kiss him. Heart pounding hard enough that he could feel it in his skull Asahi leaned forward. Oh dear god he was going to kiss him.

“I can’t-”  
Asahi dropped Noya’s head, turning to face the wall in an effort to calm himself down.  
“You can!” Noya insisted, “Come on, Asahi, you have to.”  
He grabbed his senpai by his shoulders and rotated him back to his previous position. Holding him tight by the arms Noya looked intensely in Asahi’s eyes.  
“If you want to kiss me, kiss me! You have to take what you want!”  
Asahi smiled, he’d gotten enough of Nishinoya’s pep talks in the past to recognize them, but he’d never imagined getting one in this kind of scenario. Well, not seriously at least.

With more focus than he would have thought was required for a kiss, Asahi took in one deep breath and went for it. He’d never kissed anyone before, to be honest he’d never even given it much thought. Noya on the other hand, though this was his first kiss as well, had given it way more thought than was needed. The kiss was sloppy and awkward, Asahi not even parting his lips enough to breathe through them and Noya going full tongue, without even really understanding what that meant. It lasted all of two seconds before they broke out of it, Asahi immediately needing to sit down.  
It was a bad kiss, by almost any possible definition, and yet both of the boys’ hearts were racing. A couple of seconds passed in silence before Nishinoya started giggling to himself. Asahi’s head immediately shot up.  
“What?” he was panicking, “Was it bad? It was bad, wasn’t it? I’m really-”  
“No, that’s not-” Nishinoya interrupted, “I’m just- you like me.”  
Asahi stared at him in genuine astonishment. His smile was unlike any smile he’d ever seen on Nishinoya. It was definitely one of the cutest things he’d ever been in the presence of, and he’d caused it. He couldn’t begin to comprehend that Nishinoya was smiling… because of him.

* * *

Noya couldn’t believe what had just happened. He’d kissed Asahi, or even better, Asahi had kissed him. Could he kiss him again? The second that thought popped into his head nothing else could take its place. He looked down at Asahi sitting on the bench. Oh sweet lord he was hot. And the way he looked up at him, cheeks still slightly red. Nishinoya took a step forward. It shouldn’t be that scary the second time right? So why was he still just as scared.  
“Yuu?” Asahi asked, they were now only centimeters apart.  
Nishinoya grabbed Asahi’s stubbly chin and gave it a slight tug, urging Asahi to part his lips just slightly. Damn, Nishinoya thought to himself, I probably look so cool right now.  
This thought was enough to stop him from hesitating, Asahi had probably fallen for him because of his coolness, he couldn't let him down now.

Their second kiss was much less awkward than the first one. It definitely happened more naturally when Nishinoya took the lead. Slowly as they kissed the butterflies that had been swirling through Noya's entire nervous system disappeared. All that was left was craving. He rested one knee on the bench where Asahi sat in order to get closer to him. After a couple seconds the second knee came up as well and Nishinoya was straddling him. It felt good, Nishinoya felt like he could do this forever.

Suddenly, without warning, Nishinoya felt a strong push on his chest. He fell off the bench and clattered to the floor, his head knocking off the wall.

"What the hell Asahi?" The second the words left his mouth his question was answered.  
The door of the club room clicked and Kageyama came strolling in, Hinata behind him, yelling at him for something he had said.

"Oh," Kageyama said looking down at his seniors, "I thought you guys had left."

Nishinoya looked up to see how red Asahi's face was. It was even worse than he had imagined, and Nishinoya couldn't stop himself from bursting out in laughter.

"What?" Hinata perked up, "what happened?"

Nishinoya picked himself off the ground, winked, not that subtly, at Asahi and walked over to Hinata.  
"Oh nothing, Hinata," Nishinoya announced, "just an inside joke."  
Asahi buried his head in his hands, he was lucky Hinata and Kageyama were idiots because, holy crap, Nishinoya was a bad liar.

* * *

After that Asahi was in a rush to leave, but Nishinoya insisted on leaving with him.  
"A good boyfriend would never let their boyfriend walk home alone," he explained proudly as they left campus.  
And that was only the start of Nishinoya's mission to be the best boyfriend he could be. Asahi found this a bit stressful, he'd never been in any sort of relationship before and they hadn't even had a chance to talk about what it meant before Nishinoya started using the word boyfriend in nearly every sentence he spoke. Asahi couldn't really complain though. Nishinoya was way too cute for that. The only real problem Asahi encountered was how obvious Nishinoya made it that they were dating.

They had said the day they kissed that they would keep it a secret from the rest of the team and Nishinoya had actually seemed really excited about the idea.

"Bro it's gonna be, like the perfect forbidden romance," he'd gushed as they walked down the street approaching Asahi's house, "on the court were just teammates and no one suspects a thing, but then, after the match you secretly pull me into a darkened hallway, and you push me up against the wall-"  
"Yeah, I mean, maybe," Asahi interrupted.  
There was no way he would ever do that but he had to stop Nishinoya before he went into too much detail. Already Asahi's face was dangerously hot.  
"Oh my god it's gonna be so fun," Nishinoya grinned, not bothered by Asahi's interruption, "but that means you can't tell anyone, deal?"  
He turned to Asahi and put a finger on his lips to accentuate his point. Asahi nodded silently.  
"Good boy," Nishinoya chirped, stepping up on his tiptoes to replace his finger with a kiss.

He'd been so convincing Asahi had forgotten that Nishinoya couldn't lie to save his life. It was literally the next day, less than half an hour into practice when Sugawara figured it out. Their whole dynamic had changed in an instant. Nishinoya had gone from teasing Asahi every chance he got, to going out of his way to make his life easier. And it was very clearly more than just teammate comradery. The second Asahi broke a sweat Nishinoya was beside him with a fresh towel. Whenever they had breaks Nishinoya ran to grab Asahi's water bottle, and not only that he would stand and watch intensely as Asahi drank from it. Asahi wished he could blame it all on Noya, but honestly, he knew the expressions he made in response were just as suspicious. He could help it! He had to blush when Nishinoya watched him like that, he had to smile when Nishinoya laughed, and there was no way he couldn't stare when Nishinoya did, well, basically anything. In other words, they had become as bad as Tsukishima and Yamaguchi, or maybe even worse. 

"So…" Suga started as the third years stood separate from the rest of the team, near the end of practice.  
"So what?" Asahi tried, but he couldn't even look at Suga in the eyes.  
Suga continued to stare, and Asahi continued to study the floor. Daichi looked between the two of them, confused.  
"Wait, like the Nishinoya thing?" Daichi confirmed.  
Asahi's face burnt up, though that felt almost like his natural state recently.  
"Wait you know too?"  
"I mean, something happened between you right?" Daichi asked.  
Sugawara burst out laughing.  
"You know it's obvious if Daichi notices," he laughed.  
"I know! I know!" Asahi admitted, "I honestly don't think Nishinoya understands the concept of lying."  
"Ahhhh, you admit it," Suga squealed, "so what happened? We need to know."

Noya watched from the other side of the gym.  
"What do you think they're talking about," he asked Tanaka.  
"Huh?" Tanaka had not been paying attention to Nishinoya, and definitely not the third years, "what do you mean they always talk like that."  
"Yeah but," Nishinoya paused, remembering that he had promised not to tell anyone about his relationship, even his best friend.  
Tanaka looked closely at his friend.  
"What do _you_ think they're talking about?" He asked cautiously.  
Nishinoya turned to Tanaka abruptly, grabbing his shoulders, "Can you keep a secret Ryu?"

* * *

By the time the Interhigh tournament came around the whole team knew the boys were together. To be fair to the couple, they probably could have kept it a secret from Hinata and Kageyama if they’d really wanted to, but a little over a week into their relationship, when everyone except those two first years knew, including Takeda and Ukai, Asahi had basically given up any hope of staying somewhat closeted. 

“You can’t leave early, who will I walk home with,” Noya had whined that day after Asahi told him he had a doctor’s appointment.  
“You can walk home with anyone Yuu.”  
Nishinoya sulked.  
“Hey, how about we walk to school together tomorrow morning?” Asahi suggested, instantly Noya cheered up, “Ok, see you tomorrow then.”  
Asahi leaned down and planted a quick kiss on Noya’s forehead before he turned to leave. Somehow Nishinoya had been unaware of how many people knew they were dating, so he had no idea Asahi had given up on the secret romance idea, but he definitely wasn’t mad about it. A soft blush tinted his cheeks as he watched Asahi leave. 

Hinata and Kageyama stared from the other side of the gym.  
“What?!?!?!?” Hinata rushed over to Noya’s side, “Noya-san are you dating Asahi-san?”  
Noya shot a look to his boyfriend to make sure he was allowed to tell. As if the kiss might have just been a momentary slip-up. Asahi smiled at him in response.  
Instantly Nishinoya puffed out his chest, “Yup, you saw that right. Pretty cool, isn’t it, my boyfriend’s the ace!”  
Hinata was amazed, “So cool! I can’t believe it! I had no idea!”  
“You were the only one,” Tsukishima muttered to Yamaguchi.  
“Hey! It’s pretty cool for Asahi too, he’s dating one of the best liberos in Japan!” Nishinoya bragged.  
“Oh my god, you’re right!” Hinata gushed, “The Guardian and the Ace, you guys must be the most powerful couple ever!”  
Asahi took one last look at Nishinoya before he left. It was definitely a little embarrassing, but he couldn’t help but smile watching Nishinoya brag about dating him. Less than a month ago this hadn’t even been in the realm of possibility. It felt like a dream. 

* * *

When they got on the bus on their way to the tournament it hadn’t even occurred to Nishinoya to try and sit next to Asahi. He’d always sat next to Tanaka, but ten minutes into the drive he’d already fallen asleep.  
“Dude wake up,” Tanaka shook him, “I wouldn’t have sat next to you if I knew you were gonna sleep the whole ride.”  
Nishinoya yawned, “Sorry bro, I don’t know why I’m so tired.”  
That was a lie, he’d been up until 2 am texting with Asahi the night before.  
“I can switch with you Tanaka,” Asahi suggested, trying to be casual about it.  
The bus erupted in a teasing “Oooohhh.”  
“He’s all yours,” Tanaka agreed, “As long as you don’t mind getting drooled on.”  
“Oh, I’m pretty sure Asahi’s used to having Nishinoya’s spit on him,” Sugawara called out from the back of the bus.  
“Suga!” Asahi snapped, but the whole bus was already cackling. 

In actuality, the dirty joke was not warranted. Asahi and Nishinoya’s relationship was pretty tame still. Their second kiss in the club room was probably the steamiest thing they’d done, but that didn’t stop Nishinoya from accepting Tanaka’s fist bump.  
“Nice,” Tanaka grinned, before getting up and walking over to Asahi’s seat, “go get your man, man.”  
Asahi was too overwhelmed and embarrassed to come up with any sort of reply, and he did honestly want to sit next to Nishinoya, so, eyes glued to the floor, he got out of his seat and walked over to his boyfriend.  
They sat next to each other in silence for a minute.  
“You know that was Sugawara, right?” Nishinoya confirmed.  
“I know.”  
Nishinoya was quiet for another couple of seconds.  
“I’m sorry,” he didn’t know what he was apologizing for but it was all he could think of to say.  
Asahi looked over at him, he felt bad that he’d made Noya feel guilty when he hadn’t done anything wrong. He wished he didn’t get so easily embarrassed.  
“It’s fine, go to sleep,” Asahi wrapped his arm around Nishinoya’s head and pulled it to his chest.  
He closed his eyes, trying to ignore all the people around him, but Nishinoya could hear his heart beating loudly. 

* * *

That night, after their first game, Asahi sat relaxing in the bath. People had been coming in and out and Asahi had had his head back and his eyes closed for long enough that he wasn’t really aware of who was in the room with him.  
“So, we’re facing Date Tech again Tomorrow,” Nishinoya’s voice was slightly shaky.  
Asahi looked up to see what was the problem and he realized the two of them were the only ones left in the room. Nishinoya didn’t look at him, instead, he focused very closely on the wall in front of him.  
“Yuu?”  
Nishinoya’s face was a bright red, more than could be excused as heat from the water. He looked stressed, which wasn’t something Asahi saw on Noya often. Slowly Asahi started to blush as well.  
“Yuu, why are you so uncomfortable?” Asahi thought asking this would somehow make things better, even though he knew exactly what Nishinoya was thinking and was now dangerously close to thinking the same things himself.  
Nishinoya continued to stare intensely at the wall, “Asahi you may not know this,” oh no, Asahi did not like where this was going, “but I’m actually a virgin.”  
Asahi’s blush that he’d been able to manage so far suddenly overtook his entire face. He quickly turned his head to the opposite side of the room from Nishinoya and tried his best to calm himself down. Why was Nishinoya talking about this shit? They were just taking a bath. They’d taken baths together before.  
“I know it’s very surprising, because I exude such charismatic energy,” Nishinoya continued, though Asahi wished he wouldn’t, “but you’re actually my first boyfriend and, well, I’ve never been in this kind of situation before, so-”  
“What kind of situation?!”  
Asahi was so embarrassed he had seriously considered drowning himself in the bath water. The only thing stopping him was the fact that he thought putting his head under now would be even more embarrassing.  
“Noya we’re just taking a bath, there’s nothing- I mean, I knew you we’re a- and I didn’t- I don’t even know how you thought I was ever implying- or wanting- or- Noya we’ve been dating for less than two weeks!”  
“I’m sorry,” Noya burst out, “I really wasn’t thinking it’s just, Tanaka said something before he left and it caught me off guard and I didn’t know-”  
“It’s fine!” Asahi had to stop him, “It’s fine, we can stop talking about it now.”  
Nishinoya continued to stare straight ahead and Asahi focused on the other side of the room.  
“Ok, close your eyes I’m getting out,” The atmosphere was too awkward, Asahi had to leave.  
Nishinoya closed his eyes tightly, “Ok... I’m sorry Asahi.” 

Asahi sighed and climbed out of the water. He couldn’t help but think how much more stressful every second was now that he was with Nishinoya. Somehow after over a year of knowing him, he still couldn’t begin to predict his actions.  
“Asahi?” Nishinoya called from the bath, his eyes still tightly shut.  
“Yeah?”  
“I love you.”  
“WHAT?”  
Asahi hadn’t expected the sexual comments but once he’d realized what was happening he could at least follow Nishinoya’s train of thought, but this? What the hell was going on?  
“You love me?”  
Nishinoya nodded.  
“Nishinoya we- Why would you say that now? We’re in the baths! We’re naked Noya!”  
“I know, I know it was stupid, I just, I wanted to tell you that for a while, I loved you from the first time we kissed and, I don’t know, I felt brave.”  
Asahi was at a loss for words. Somehow Nishinoya had managed to make the moment he’d dreamed about into his worst nightmare. He loved him? They’d barely started dating and Nishinoya already loved him? Asahi had been sure he would be the first to say that, he’d been sure he’d started thinking it too early but… But they were in the bath! How in god’s name had Nishinoya thought this was a good idea?  
“Asahi?”  
Asahi panicked, realizing he’d been silent for long enough that it could be taken as a rejection. Quickly, he turned to Noya.  
“I love you too. I really do, I’ve loved you for so long it’s embarrassing, I just… Yuu.”  
Nishinoya paused.  
“I guess you can’t kiss me, because, you know.”  
“That’s why you don’t confess your love in a public bath, Nishinoya.”  
Nishinoya started to snicker. He tried to suppress it at first but soon he was howling in laughter, so much that it could probably be heard down the hall. Asahi couldn’t help but laugh with him, his laugh was so contagious, and it wasn’t often that Asahi could cause it.  
“Ok,” Nishinoya finally said when he stopped laughing, “I’ll confess to you properly once we get our clothes on.”  
Asahi grinned. Nishinoya stressed him out more than anything else, but he was so unbelievably lucky to have him. 

* * *

After the first time they said "I love you" Nishinoya wouldn't stop. He couldn't help it, it felt so good to say. Asahi would return the sentiment at least a couple times a day, but Noya didn't blame him for being unable to keep up. In general, if you were talking to Nishinoya, it didn't matter what it was about, and he hadn't mentioned his love for Asahi yet, you knew he wasn't done talking. 

The more Nishinoya said it the less Asahi blushed. Even though at the start of their relationship Asahi blushing had been Nishinoya's only goal, he was happy that Asahi was getting more comfortable. The less he blushed the more he could talk to Nishinoya, the more he could flirt with him, the more he could kiss him. By the time their summer vacation started, and they were heading to their training camp in Tokyo, Asahi had gotten comfortable enough with Nishinoya to openly gush. And Nishinoya loved it. 

They worked hard at the training camp, staying up late working on Asahi's serve and Nishinoya's set. They were exhausted by the time they got to bed each night. On the first night, they'd tried to be secretive about their cuddling. They'd just so happened to pick beds right next to each other, and they'd very discreetly joined hands under the covers before they fell asleep. Unfortunately, Nishinoya was a pretty restless sleeper, and Asahi woke up with Noya hugging him so tight he couldn't even move. 

When Asahi finally shook Nishinoya awake the first morning it took him a second to realize what he'd done. Once he did he quickly jumped back.  
"I'm so sorry Asahi, I didn't mean to."  
Asahi laughed, "I think it's fine."  
He nodded his head in the direction of Nekoma's captain, who had the team's setter wrapped so deeply in his arms that Nishinoya couldn't even tell who it was at first.  
"Plus I saw those two sneaking in before sunrise," Asahi gestured at the Fukurodani captain and setter, "the captain woke me up because he was giggling so loud."  
Nishinoya laughed. He never noticed those kinds of things, but he was glad Asahi did. 

For the rest of the training camp, they made no effort to keep themselves apart. They quickly found their favourite cuddling position, which turned out to be Nishinoya basically laying on Asahi like an extra blanket. By the last couple days, they would push themselves during practice until they could barely stand, knowing they would have the best night's sleep once they were done, with the person they loved most in the world between their arms. 

* * *

It was a sweetly sunny Saturday when Asahi opened his door to Nishinoya proudly presenting the bouquet of flowers he’d collected. He’d gone to a flower shop in preparation for their date, but they’d all been like 1500 yen. There were flowers everywhere for free.  
“Where’d you get these?” Asahi asked, looking at his boyfriend with concern.  
“I picked them myself,” Nishinoya said proudly, “for you, my love.”  
It was the end of summer and the two boys had been dating for over three months, so Asahi knew Nishinoya well enough to know that wasn’t the whole story.  
“From people’s gardens?”  
“Ok, if they didn’t want people to pick them they would put a fence around them or something.”  
Asahi took the flowers from Nishinoya, they were beautiful, but-  
“Ok, ok, there was a fence around some of them. I jumped the fence. I’m sorry Asahi.”  
Asahi laughed.  
“I love them,” he grabbed Nishinoya’s hand, “but you don’t have to trespass for me.”  
Asahi closed the door behind him and they started to walk off.  
“Who said I was trespassing for you,” Noya teased, “I trespass all the time, you’re not special.”  
“Wow, that hurts.”  
“I guess I could do it for you next time.”  
“I just said I wanted the opposite of that, Yuu.”  
“I don’t know, baby, you’re sending mixed messages.”  
They were still very different people, but Asahi could keep up with Nishinoya’s sense of humor, and Nishinoya knew what Asahi found funny and what he was uncomfortable with. They could spend hours together at this point without getting tired of each other, and when they had to be apart for whatever reason they were confident enough that they loved each other that it didn’t worry them.  
“So where are we going today?” Asahi asked as they continued down the street, hand in hand.  
Nishinoya scoffs, “What kind of surprise would it be if I told you now?” 

* * *

Asahi didn’t have a very close relationship with Tanaka, but in early October he had a very specific reason to talk to him.  
“He what?” Asahi was in disbelief.  
“Hey, you asked what he’d want for his birthday, and I know he’d really like that,” Tanaka explained with a shrug.  
“Yeah, well I’m not wearing a girl’s uniform. I don’t care if it would be the highlight of his entire life.”  
“It probably would.”  
“I- you’re joking right,” Asahi pleaded, “has he actually talked about this?”  
“He has told me he thinks it would be hot on multiple occasions,” Tanaka was deathly serious.  
Asahi tried to manage his thoughts. He thought the days of blushing over things Nishinoya said were over but this… This was something else.  
“Well, it doesn’t matter I’m not doing it.”  
“Hmm, well I guess you could get him food or something.”  
Asahi stared at his feet. A schoolgirl uniform? Like the one Kiyoko wore? How would he even find one that would fit him? Wait, what was he thinking? There was no way he would ever do this. Why would Nishinoya even want this? But he was such a good boyfriend, and Asahi wanted to do something special for his birthday.  
“Do I have to do the whole uniform? Or just the skirt?”  
Tanaka jumped up from his seat, “Are you gonna do it?” 

When Nishinoya opened his phone the morning of his seventeenth birthday he seriously considered taking the day off from school. The second he saw the photo, he hadn’t even opened it yet, just the preview in the messages, he threw his phone across the room and had to stop himself from screaming. Was this a dream? It must be, there was no way Asahi would even know that he… That was when Yuu remembered seeing Asahi walk out of his classroom about a week before, he’d thought he saw him blushing. Tanaka had been grinning like a crazy person but he wouldn’t tell Nishinoya anything. Was this what they were talking about?  
Taking a few breaths Nishinoya carefully picked up his phone from the corner of his room. He closed his eyes as he opened messages again. He opened them for half a second before he had to close them again, but he had seen enough to know he wasn’t imagining things. Asahi had sent him a picture in a full Karasuno girls uniform. 

* * *

It was a cold day in November when Asahi first mentioned his university applications. Nishinoya had no right to be shocked by this, he knew Asahi was graduating and had heard him talking about future plans with the other third years more than a couple times, but Noya was very skilled at selective hearing, and had chosen not to ever think about the next year.  
“I’m kind of nervous,” Asahi explained, “I mean, my grades are good enough for the fashion program, but I have no idea what to do for my portfolio. Maybe I should just do a liberal arts degree.”  
“Hmm,” Nishinoya responded, it was hard to block out a conversation that you were supposed to be a part of.  
“I don’t know, I guess there are other fashion programs too, but this one just seems so cool.”  
“The one in Tokyo?” somehow the part that he wanted to hear the least was the only detail he could remember from what Asahi said.  
The tone in Nishinoya’s voice unsettled Asahi, “yeah…”  
“Yeah, well,” Nishinoya couldn’t look his boyfriend in the eye, “You shouldn’t doubt yourself. I’m sure you’ll get into any program you apply to.”  
Yet again, Nishinoya’s inability to hide his feelings was biting him in the ass. He really did want Asahi to apply for any university he was interested in, and he really did hope he would get in, but he couldn’t help but hurt. Tokyo was far.  
“I mean,” Asahi was watching Noya closely, “I’ve only just started applying, who knows what will happen.”  
Nishinoya knew what would happen. Asahi would put together an amazing portfolio, he would get into every university he applied to, and he would go to whatever prestigious fashion program in Tokyo he was talking about. Of course he would, he was amazing at everything he did. He would go to Tokyo and have the time of his life. He would make a bunch of friends, they’d probably all be in love with him, I mean, it’s a fashion program so Nishinoya knew they’d all be gay.  
“Yeah,” Nishinoya mumbled, he just wanted this conversation to be over. 

Asahi watched Nishinoya get up and make his way to his class. He hadn’t even thought about what his graduating meant for their relationship. After six months together he’d gotten used to the idea that the things he worried about were no big deal to Nishinoya. In the early days he’d stress about every next stage, every next date, every big moment, but the second he saw his boyfriend he would realize he had no reason to worry. Even with the big picture things. Nishinoya was so happy and comfortable to talk about things that Asahi couldn’t even begin to comprehend. For god’s sake, Nishinoya had already chosen their wedding theme, though Asahi couldn’t see himself agreeing to a Mission Impossible wedding. 

When it came the time for Asahi to consider universities, he’d just assumed Nishinoya had some plan to keep them connected. When he’d stumbled across the program of his dreams, he’d been worried about a thousand things. How he’d handle living alone. How he’d make friends in a new city. How often he’d get to see his parents. He’d had multiple panic attacks about whether he could get in and if he did how he’d handle the course work, but Nishinoya? Somehow he had just assumed his relationship was the one thing he could count on to stay constant. Somehow he’d seen Nishinoya by his side the whole time. Nishinoya was the kind of person Asahi couldn’t imagine losing even if he tried. He could fly across the world with no prior notice, change his name, get an entirely new identity and he still wouldn’t be surprised if the libero showed up at his door a week later. 

Watching Nishinoya walk down the hallway, head hung, Asahi felt like he was watching the whole world crumble at his feet. 

* * *

The next few weeks passed without any mention of the Tokyo conversation. Asahi had asked Daichi what he thought he should do, but all his suggestions revolved around talking to Nishinoya about it, and Asahi never wanted to see his boyfriend look like that again. He knew it wasn’t true but it was so nice to pretend they would never have to have that conversation again. When they walked home after practice they talked about the new signature move Nishinoya was working on, or the teacher that was always on Asahi’s case. They smiled and laughed and flirted and kissed and acted like everything was fine. It wasn’t until they were alone, trying to fall asleep at night, when they didn’t have the strength to repress it any more, that their worries about the future came back. 

It wasn’t that Nishinoya couldn’t deal with the distance so much. He would walk to Tokyo to see Asahi if he had to. If he thought Asahi wanted that. It was more just, they were living the same life now. Volleyball was the most important thing for both of them. Asahi was the ace and Nishinoya was the libero. He just, he didn’t have a position in Asahi’s life after school, or even life after school in general. Asahi was going to have an amazing life and do amazing things, Nishinoya didn't even know if he'd be able to go to university. He was good at volleyball, but he didn't know if that was what he wanted to do with his life, but what if there was nothing else he could do. He sucked at school, he wasn't creative, the business world was terrifying to him. 

Of course he was sad about Asahi graduating, but more than that he was just scared for the future. He was happy in the present, he didn't want anything to change, and Asahi moving to Tokyo meant things were going to change. 

His phone buzzed on his nightstand. A message from Asahi, like he knew what he was thinking, “Goodnight baby, ily”. Nishinoya stared at the text for almost a minute. It was a pretty standard text to get from Asahi, but somehow it scared Nishinoya. It felt different. He might have been imagining it, but it felt like pity. 

* * *

December and most of January passed without much mention of the future. Nishinoya would catch Asahi talking with Daichi and Sugawara about it or stressing about something to do with his application, and he would smile sweetly and say what he needed to keep the conversation from going any further. He realized then it was actually pretty easy to hide his feelings when he needed to, and he really needed to because he really wasn’t ready to have the conversation with Asahi yet. 

It took him all of November and December to figure out what he wanted from the future, and it took him all of January to come to terms with his decision and what that meant for him and Asahi. It wasn’t easy, but he had given it an almost unreasonable amount of thought and he was confident in his decision, so in early February, when Asahi got his letter of admission, like Nishinoya knew he would, there was only one thing left to do. 

“I think we should break up,” Nishinoya told him calmly as they walked to school together, only seconds after saying how proud he was of his boyfriend’s accomplishment.  
Asahi suddenly lost his ability to breathe. What was happening? Was this a nightmare? Nishinoya had just told him he loved him and now he was saying he wanted to break up. This wasn’t right.  
“Not right now, but when you go to Tokyo,” Nishinoya continued, “I just, I’ve thought about it a lot and think it would be best.”  
When Asahi finally willed his lungs to contract he could still only take shallow breaths. He covered his mouth with his hand, staring at Nishinoya.  
“Asahi?” Nishinoya’s eyes widened in panic, “Are you alright.”  
Asahi couldn’t stop. The second Yuu looked at him he broke down. He choked on deep sobs. “Oh my god, Asahi,” Nishinoya jumped forward to wrap him in a hug.  
Asahi continued to cry into Nishinoya’s shoulder, somehow even when he was the one who was hurting him, Nishinoya could comfort Asahi better than anyone else.  
“I’m sorry, I’m sorry,” Nishinoya whispered to Asahi, stroking his back softly, but Asahi was aware that he never said anything about taking back the breakup. 

They stood like that, at the side of the street, until Asahi found the strength to stand again. He knew if he tried to talk he would start crying again, so the two of them walked in silence for about a minute.  
“I still love you,” Nishinoya quietly confessed.  
Asahi looked at him through puffy eyes. Why did that just make it hurt more? 

Nishinoya didn’t get a chance to explain himself on the walk, it would have just felt like rubbing salt in a wound, so the day passed as a sort of awkward dream. Asahi didn’t pick up a single thing his teacher said. When the bell rang for lunch he didn’t react, he just continued to stare at the falling snow outside the window.  
“Asahi?” Daichi appeared at his shoulder.  
Asahi jumped, as if he had no idea there were other people in the room.  
“Are you ok?” Daichi asked him.  
Asahi pulled together a fake smile. It was all he could think to do.  
“Yeah, I’m fine.”  
Daichi looked over his shoulder at Michimiya. They exchanged a worried look.  
“Ok,” Daichi paused, “If you need to take the day off volleyball, that’s fine. I mean we don’t have any more games or anything.”  
Asahi just nodded. He’d already turned his head back to the window. 

When Nishinoya noticed Asahi still hadn’t come twenty minutes into practice he knew what had happened. When he saw Sugawara glare at him while talking to Daichi, he knew what they were talking about. He’d hoped he and Asahi could’ve stayed together at least until Asahi’s graduation, but maybe that was unrealistic. If this was how Asahi wanted to handle it, maybe it was for the best. 

It was a week before Nishinoya saw Asahi again, and it was only a brief encounter in the hallway. Nishinoya tried to wave, but by the time he had his hand up Asahi had already passed. Daichi announced a couple days later that Asahi wouldn’t be joining them for practice for the rest of the year. He said it was because he needed to focus on exams, but by the energy in the gym, Nishinoya knew they were all aware of what had really happened. Nishinoya tried to cry, he tried really hard, but he couldn’t bring himself to feel anything but empty. He’d chosen this, so it felt selfish to cry about it. He knew Asahi was better off this way, still, he had thought they could have stayed friends. 

* * *

As the days turned to weeks past their breakup Asahi slowly started to look at Nishinoya when they passed each other in the halls, then smile, then wave. By March he could duck his head in at volleyball practices and drop off something Daichi had left in the classroom and people could mention the libero’s name in his presence without fearing death itself, but even by April he still couldn’t exchange more than one word with his ex without feeling his throat get tight with held back tears, and he still couldn’t name a single time he’d felt genuinely happy past the morning they’d broken up. 

Asahi took a deep breath as he prepared to accept his diploma at graduation. He’d gotten so used to feeling numb that even as his classmates all cried around him he was completely calm. When they called his name he put on the fake smile he’d been practicing in the mirror the last two months. One that would make his parents happy. His face stayed in that expression as he shook the dean’s hand and as he turned to face everyone watching, but something in the crowd wiped his expression clean. 

It was the first time Nishinoya had really cried since the breakup and it couldn’t have come at a worse time. Somehow he’d made it the entire past two months of dull unending pain, when all he’d wanted in the world was to feel something real, without crying once, but the second his entire school was gathered in one room he was a mess. He knew Asahi could see him, he’d be surprised if Asahi couldn’t hear him, his sobs were loud enough to fill the entire gym, but he just couldn’t stop. Tanaka had his arm around him, though he had no idea what to do past that. Nishinoya could feel every eye in the room on him, but that just made him feel worse. How dare he take away this moment from Asahi. How dare he make him feel guilty when it was Nishinoya who’d hurt him. Nishinoya clutched his mouth, trying to silence his cries, but he knew he wouldn’t be able to stop. Ducking low to try and attract as little attention as possible, though it was a little too late for that, Nishinoya bolted out of the gym. 

Asahi stood on the stage. The sound of Nishinoya’s sobs was covered by the crashing of the door behind him, which was slowly drowned out by whispers of the other students. By the time anyone even thought to look at Asahi again, his face was streaked by tears. When he noticed people’s eyes on him he quickly wiped his face and hurried back to his seat. It was a few seconds of silence before the ceremony continued, but Asahi just slumped into his seat for the entire hour, head completely devoid of thoughts. 

When they were finally dismissed he stood up instantly. There was a herd of people trying to approach him, probably to ask what had happened, but he knew who he wanted to talk to. He made a bee-line across the gym.  
“Where is he?” he grabbed Tanaka by the shoulder.  
Tanaka jumped at the touch, “Wha- oh Nishinoya?”  
Asahi stared at him with a look so serious it unnerved Tanaka.  
“Um, I think he went home,” Asahi let go of his shoulder, “Wait what do you-”  
Asahi had already left. He didn’t care if his parents would be mad that he didn’t take pictures with them, he honestly didn’t even care if this was the last time he would see his classmates, he had to see Nishinoya right now. 

Tanaka had texted him a warning ten minutes before, so when the doorbell rang, Nishinoya knew who it was. He tried to calm himself as he reached for the doorknob.  
“Asahi I-”  
“Why?” Asahi was breathing heavily. Had he run all the way from school? “Why do we need to break up?”  
Nishinoya felt tears building up once again.  
“I’m sorry,” he cried, “I’m really sorry, Asahi.”  
“But you don’t want to get back together?” it had been two months but Asahi still couldn’t understand the logic Nishinoya had used to get to his decision.  
“We can’t,” Nishinoya’s voice was garbled from the tears, he hated saying this but, “I need to figure out what I’m doing. I need to figure out who I am.”  
Asahi felt an irrational anger building in his stomach while tears welled in his eyes. This was why they broke up? Some bullshit line from an American rom-com?  
“Why can’t you do that while dating me?”  
He hated how desperate he sounded, Nishinoya had broken his heart, ripped it to pieces and now what was he doing? Begging him to get back together? After all this? He hated that he was so willing to let Nishinoya break his heart again, but he couldn't help it. If there was any chance they could be together again...  
"I made up my mind Asahi," Nishinoya wiped at the tears on his face.  
"So then why are you crying?" Asahi could feel the stabbing in his heart again, "why did you do that? Why did you ruin my graduation if you don't even want to be with me?"  
"Because I miss you Asahi!" Nishinoya was past the point of considering the impact of his words. All he could do was be honest, "I miss you so much it's all I can do. I know I have no right to, I know I broke up with you and I know why I did. I know I'm selfish and horrible and stupid, but I miss you. I miss you every day."  
Asahi had no response, all he could do was cry with Nishinoya. The wall that had been built up between them since the breakup was not enough to keep Nishinoya from stepping forward to rest his head on Asahi's chest, and it couldn't stop Asahi from wrapping him in his arms in response. They held each other tightly in that hug for a long time, sobbing quietly.  
"I'm sorry Asahi," Nishinoya repeated, it seemed like the only thing he knew how to say at that point.  
It had taken him every moment from the breakup until this one to prepare Asahi to say this, but finally something in Asahi settled.  
"It's ok," Asahi murmured into his hair. 

* * *

It was strange. It wasn’t really like Asahi forgave Nishinoya after that, it wasn’t that he had any less reason to be mad, just that he didn’t have the energy to be. They just sort of settled with the mutual agreement that they couldn’t live with never talking again, so if they weren’t going to date they would just have to be ok with being friends.  
It felt more natural than Asahi would have thought, they became closer friends than they’d been even before they started dating. It was still confusing sometimes. Asahi would catch himself smiling a little too hard at his phone for a text from a friend, or getting a little too excited for Nishinoya to visit, but he made friends quickly in Tokyo and slowly through his first year he started to get over his first love. It was hard, but he knew it would’ve been hard to get over Nishinoya even if they’d completely cut contact, and he was willing to take the slightly slower process if it meant he didn’t have to give up their relationship. 

When Nishinoya started his third year at Karasuno he was definitely a little lost. He’d tried to quit volleyball the year before when Asahi had said he wouldn’t be playing, so the prospect of a whole year without him was weird, to say the least. He definitely felt a change in the atmosphere, but he tried to laugh and have fun with his teammates, until, about a month in he didn’t have to try so hard anymore. He still missed Asahi, but they texted and talked often. He’d been right, Asahi was living the perfect university life in Tokyo. He was stressing about almost all his classes but despite what he said, he was actually doing really well in school. He went out to trendy Tokyo restaurants with his trendy fashion friends every weekend and always had all kinds of stories to tell Nishinoya whenever they talked. 

Nishinoya’s heart still ached whenever Asahi talked about a guy who was into him, or even worse, a guy he was into, but Nishinoya would only encourage him. He still loved Asahi, even by the time he graduated, but he knew he made the right choice. He still had a lot to figure out about himself and the world, and he knew Asahi was living the life he deserved, without being bogged down by Nishinoya’s quest for self-discovery. When he graduated he visited Asahi in Tokyo for about a week before leaving on his world-wide trip. 

Asahi entered second year removed enough from his feelings for Nishinoya that he could start dating again, and, just as Nishinoya had suspected, he had a long list of people waiting to date him. Within a week of announcing he was ready to date, two of his friends from first year had confessed their feelings to him. He started dating one of them the next week and they were together for the rest of university. It was a perfectly fine relationship, they had things they fought about, things that they shared just between each other. They said I love you after six months together, and they’d met each others’ parents, but somehow when they broke up, and even after finding out his boyfriend had been cheating on him for the last two months of their relationship, Asahi was struck by how little it hurt. It was still awful, he still cried, he still went out drinking with his friends and sang breakup songs on the karaoke machine until two in the morning, but compared to what he’d felt when Nishinoya left him, it was nothing. 

Nishinoya knew the news about Asahi’s breakup shouldn’t have delighted him as much as it did, but four years had passed since their breakup in high school and Nishinoya still hadn’t had another serious relationship. He’d tried dating, and there’d been one girl that stuck around for a couple months, but he was still exploring the world, rarely staying anywhere long, so it didn’t make sense to get involved in a serious relationship. Though, this was also a convenient excuse, because try as he might, he couldn’t get Asahi out of his head. While Asahi had a boyfriend they hadn’t talked nearly as much as Nishinoya would have liked, so Nishinoya would light up every time he saw a message from Asahi on his phone. After the breakup, however, their friendship was stronger than ever and, though Nishinoya didn’t want to jinx it, he noticed about a month in some of Asahi’s texts seemed to have a distinctly flirty vibe to them. 

Asahi didn’t necessarily plan it, but he found it really comforting to talk to Nishinoya after everything that had gone down with his last boyfriend. He’d forgotten how funny Noya could be, and how well they understood each other. It wasn’t long before they were texting throughout every day and video chatting at least a couple times a week. Asahi definitely wasn’t planning to start dating Nishinoya again, he told himself, and all his friends, that he would take some time to just be single, but he couldn’t help but become wrapped up in Nishinoya again. He’d realized how boring the last three years with his college boyfriend had been, how boring he’d been. He missed having fun with Nishinoya. He’d forgotten he could have fun like that. 

* * *

At the MSBY Jackals game, when Sugawara asked Asahi about Nishinoya, Asahi knew what he was implying. When Asahi could describe in detail Nishinoya’s latest catch Sugawara raised an eyebrow in a way that only he could and Asahi couldn’t help but blush a little. It had been months since his breakup and he and Nishinoya still talked every day. They were definitely flirtier than friends. They complimented each other’s appearance any chance they got, they reminisced about their relationship often, and worst of all they’d gotten used to saying I love you before hanging up on calls, but they still hadn’t talked about whether they were going to date again. 

Asahi wouldn’t admit it, but he was too scared to ask. He would feel like the stupidest person on earth if he found out he’d developed unrequited feelings for the boy who’d broken his heart in high school immediately after getting cheated on by the only other boyfriend he’d ever had. Honestly, he really wanted to get back together with Nishinoya, but he’d embarrassed himself enough going after that for one lifetime, so if Nishinoya wanted to date him again, he would have to come to him. And come to him he would. 

He did it on Christmas, 2018. Nishinoya was visiting home for a couple of weeks, but he’d asked Asahi if he could stay with him in Tokyo for the last week of the year. Asahi had instantly agreed, the simp he was, and he’d only been a little disappointed when Nishinoya told him he would sleep on the couch the whole time. 

When Asahi woke up Christmas morning he found a little box at the foot of his bed. It was messily wrapped in ugly green Christmas tree wrapping paper and scrawled across it was Nishinoya's instantly recognizable handwriting. A grin spreading across his face and his heart fluttering Asahi sat up and began unwrapping the little gift. Inside was a box of Pockys, a little handmade friendship bracelet, and a little note.  
"Meet me here" the note stated, along with a poorly doodled map of Asahi's neighborhood, with a label for "your place" and a label for "here". Asahi smiled at the little paper, he was sure there was an easier way to do this, but god it was so cute. 

He got dressed in an outfit nice enough that if Nishinoya had a fancy date planned he wouldn't be underdressed, but casual enough that if Nishinoya had booked them for laser tag or something he wouldn't look ridiculous. He stepped out of his apartment, map in hand and heart fluttering like a kid. He found Nishinoya alone in a tiny little park, sitting on a bench rubbing his hands together to keep out the cold. He wondered how long he'd been waiting. 

"What is this place?" Asahi asked, causing Nishinoya to jump off the bench to stand in front of him.  
"Asahi!" He grinned, "Oh, this? I'm not sure, I don't know Tokyo very well, but I saw this in the taxi on the way to your place and I thought it looked nice."  
Asahi's smile just kept growing, "You goof," he teased.  
"Ok, should I start then?"  
"Start what?"  
"Oh, yeah," Nishinoya fixed his posture, with his shoulders back and head held high he cleared his throat. 

"Azumane Asahi, the first time I told you I loved you, we were in the boys' bath at a cheap hotel for a high school volleyball tournament."  
Asahi laughed.  
"It was definitely a bit of a dumb move on my part, but I wouldn't trade that memory for anything in the world. Still, it's not often a guy gets a second chance to confess to the love of his life, and if things go the way I'm hoping, I don't think I'll need a third, so I'm going to be careful not to mess this one up."  
Asahi felt tears stinging his eyes, he didn't cry from joy often, but really hadn't expected this.  
"Asahi, I- um…"  
Nishinoya put his hand in his pocket.  
"What?" Asahi asked.  
"Nothing," Nishinoya claimed as he pulled his phone out of his pocket.  
"Did you write all this in your notes app?" Asahi giggled.  
"Maybe," Nishinoya said defensively, "I just wanted it to be perfect."  
He opened his phone, evidently, the note had been the last thing he'd looked at because he didn't have to touch anything before he started up again.  
"Ok, so, yeah," he found his place is the note, "Asahi I've loved you since I was 16 years old, and I'm grateful for the time we've spent apart because I got to learn so much about the world and myself, but one of the most important things I learned is that I don't want to go another day without you."  
The little bit of stinging in his eyes had turned into full-blown tears as he watched Nishinoya continue his speech.  
"I know, if you were ever in my league, which I'm not convinced you were, in the past few years you've grown so much I probably seem like day-old yogurt in the garbage can to you."  
"Did you actually write that?" Asahi interrupted.  
"Save all questions until the end please and thank you. Um, ok you made me lose my train of thought."  
"Day-old yogurt," Asahi reminded him.  
"Ah yes, I must seem like day-old yogurt in the garbage can to you, but if you'd be willing to give me the chance, I want to spend the rest of my life being the best boyfriend to you I can possibly be. Asahi, will you-"  
"Of course."  
Asahi couldn't wait for him to finish, he grabbed Nishinoya and kissed him the way he'd deserved to be kissed all those years ago. 

They were both giggling when they broke the kiss.  
"You didn't let me finish," Nishinoya scolded, " what if I'd been asking you to marry me?"  
Asahi laughed, "I probably still would have said yes."  
Nishinoya blushed, "What if I'd been asking you to sell me your kidney?"  
"Oh shut up," Asahi grinned, "I'll be your boyfriend, that's what you wanted to know, isn't it?"  
Nishinoya nodded and the two of them kissed again. Both of them couldn't help but wonder when they'd gotten so good at this. 

* * *

**Author's Note:**

> I tried to stay as close to the canon as possible, though I've only watched the show I haven't read the manga and I realized after I'd finished the scene that they don't sleep overnight anywhere for the prelims but it was too late to change it so please suspend disbelief.
> 
> Thanks so much for reading I really hope people enjoy this fic.


End file.
